The protein type 5 adenylyl cyclase (AC5) seems to act as an amplifier of adrenaline response in the heart. Mutant mice that don’t make AC5 live up to 30 percent longer, weigh less as they age than normal mice, and may be more resistant to heart disease and cancer. Researchers are already developing drugs that inhibit AC5, but cardiologist H. Kirk Hammond cautions against hoping for a miracle cure for aging.

“I think first what I would do is get people to slow down on the highway, stop eating Big Macs and stop smoking.”

Eminently practical advice. [dangerousmeta]